yeah, I think it has to do with how I am detecting PAL/NTSC. I let the CPU run a little while and check M2. Then I reset it again. Traced through CV3's startup on the NES while it booted and I can see why it crashes.

It's setting some things up, then CLI'ing and immediately jumping into the IRQ routine. But the problem is the IRQ routine's pointer has not been set up yet so the CPU jumps off in the weeds.

Using a game genie fixes it because the MMC5 isn't enabled on this first exploratory reset. Only when you start the game does it enable the MMC5, so it works fine.

The fix will be to detect PAL/NTSC via the PPU instead, since that continues to run even in reset. (the CPU does not output anything in reset, which is why it must be taken out of reset to detect PAL vs. NTSC).

I had some more games not work beyond just Castlevania 3. Demon Sword and Wrath of the Black Manta both aren't playable at all. Demon Sword Crashes when the first level begins, and Wrath of the Black Manta can only get to the title screen. I also noticed that Blaster Master has weird characters (rows of 0's) on the title screen. These games are all clean and work fine on an original nes front loader.

Somebody on another message board also reported that Paperboy doesn't work, but I don't have that game to test.

I'm a little concerned about compatibility since these games use a different mapper than Castlevania 3. Kevin, will the fix for Castlevania 3 also fix these games?

A couple other weird things. When playing the game Gun.Smoke, the HDMI menu can't be called up with the hotkey at all.

I wasn't sure where to report these, so I hope it is ok to post them here. Thanks!Also, scanline settings always default to NES when saved.

If Paperboy is broken, that might be a problem with open bus handling, and other Mindscape games might be broken as well. Mindscape games expect exactly $41 on port $4016 when a button is pressed. There exists a patch to play the game with a PowerPak.

another problem that has been brought up on the NT NeoGaf thread is that if you shut down the TV, the console will reset. This can be a problem for those gamers who leave their game on pause and leave it until their next gaming session. (since many games doesn't have saves or password)

Update! Analogue suggested that I go into the settings and change Despeckle. Mine came set on Phase 2. When I changed it to either Phase 0 or Phase 1, it fixed the following: Rad Racer, Bases Loaded 2, Demon Sword, Wrath of the Black Manta.

The only issues I still have:

The Last Starfighter is stuck in demo mode. Can't hit start. If anybody has this game, can you test your copy for me? It works fine in my front loader.Gun.Smoke won't let you call up the menuScanline settings won't save properly (default to nes)Still no Castlevania 3 of course!

I have been reading about people wanting to turn the TV off without it resetting the game. I didn't know anyone was going to do this.

Right now here's how it works: When the HDMI link is dropped (or not present on startup) it defaults to composite mode. This changes the clock rate from the internally generated clock to the NES board's clock. This change cannot happen without resetting the CPU because it will crash otherwise.

I was thinking of modifying it to work like this:

If the HDMI link does not establish within 2-3 seconds, the system will default to composite mode and stay there until the HDMI link comes up. If the HDMI link comes up, it will stay in HDMI mode and not change resolution unless power cycled (or you change resolutions in the menu). Each resolution change will require a reboot, but this is ideally something that only happens once.

Fixes to do:

* apparently scanline settings aren't being saved, so I will fix that* fix the reset thing like previously discussed in a former post

The final issue I have heard of is a few games like paperboy running but not reading controller inputs. I am not sure why this would happen- the reason it happens is fairly well known; the game reads the controller and checks for 41h instead of the proper method of ANDing off all but bit 0. The adapter does not add pullups or pulldowns to the bus, so theoretically this should still work. I am unsure if the problem is the adapter itself or something in the nt doing it; I will try to get to the bottom of that after borrowing one of the carts that does this. (If anything, my adapter would add slightly more bus capacitance to the bus helping along open bus reads)

People were wondering how the update process works. Well it works like this:

if you have a powerpak (or your everdrive works):

* download the update.nes file* load it onto your flash cart, or burn it to EPROMs and put it on an MMC3 cart (512K PRG, 256K CHR* see below)* run the ROM* go into the menu on the HiDef adapter (select + left for NES, select + down for the nt on controller 1 as default)* select "save and update"* select "update firmware"* press A to start the process

DO NOT turn off the system or reset it during the updating process.

Re: MMC3 carts. You can burn PRG only and use the update tool; I reserved the 256K of CHR ROM (only 1K or so is used for the char set) in the 256K, leaving 255K for updates. The block counter is printed below the menu by the NES itself, and without CHR it will just show randomish graphics but the update should still work- unless I have to add more blocks into CHR in the future.

Hopefully I will be done with the update in a few days to a week. That's the goal. Then it will need to be tested well before releasing it into the wild. Fortunately we haven't sold many systems yet so this shouldn't be too tough to do. The existing boards we still have will be updated before shipping.

I know you mentioned that if the HDMI link doesn't establish it resorts to composite mode. However, composite out is disabled on the Analogue NT. Unfortunately, only the HDMI out works. Could this be causing problems. Sometimes when I am playing a game, the screen will momentarily go black. It's as if there is a temporary issue with the HDMI link.

Also, I have an issue with The Last Starfighter responding to controller input (can't press start). And, Gun.Smoke not allowing the HDMI menu to come up. Are these caused by the same issue with Paperboy?

I have been reading about people wanting to turn the TV off without it resetting the game. I didn't know anyone was going to do this.

Well, I've never heard of a video game console which switches off when you turn the TV off Sometimes, I turn of my TV when playing a game, without switching off my console.

I don't think anyone would ever use composite again on his LCD TV if he has the hdmi board installed, so I don't understand why you thought it would be a good idea to have Hi-Def to behave like this :s

Many times in my life I've left a game running with the TV off while I go eat dinner or do something else (or someone else needed the TV). Especially important in long games that don't have a save.

As for supporting both HDMI and composite alternately, I'm sure a lot of people appreciate the ability to do both, even if Zonomi doesn't. I would, anyway, but I use my NES in a lot of different situations.

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